HERITAGE & GRANDEUR

Historic Carpets and Rugs of Persia

Persian/oriental carpets and rugs evoke images of opulence,
splendour and grandeur. It is an art form that has captured the imagination of
those in the occident for generations, those who have felt the need to aspire
to an aesthetic which has been essentially forged in the orient. Carpets and
rugs produced in Persia
during the Safavid period are particularly evocative, for they represent the
'classical period' of carpet production, pieces which are resplendent in silk,
metal brocade, with the most intricate artistic designs. The finesse with which
these pieces were made would seldom ever be matched again and the extant pieces
from this period now grace some of the great private and public collections in
the world.

There
is a sense of irony, in that the development and indeed continuation of this
art form, particularly in the last two hundred years or more, has undoubtedly
been impacted upon by artistic and commercial trends in the West, without which
in Iran/Persia, (the foremost producer of carpets and rugs in the world), the
industry may well have remained stagnant, or even had reached its demise. How and
why this occurred has been discussed by Cecil Edwards and Professor Kurt
Erdmann in their respective works,[1]
but what is most evident is that carpet weaving in Persia by the beginning of
the 19th century began to recover after a turbulent and destructive period in
that country's history. By the middle/latter part of the century, carpets and
rugs were being made to order at the behest and procurement of western agents
and companies, those with a commercial and aesthetic understanding of what was
required by the new-found wealth of the burgeoning middle classes in the West
on the back of the industrial revolution.

By
the middle/late nineteenth century, manufacturers all over the country were
working to maximise this commercial opportunity. Vitally, from a point of view
of colour, design and manufacture, artisans were drawing inspiration from the
earlier epoch of 'classical’ carpets. The materials which were used were also
often strictly vetted, this is why pieces made in this period still resonate
with beautiful colours and lustrous wool, enhancing the design and overall
impression of these pieces.